Charles Fischer

My friends, Coach Lombardi made mention of a freshman, Paige Sinicki, who stood above all and was challenging former starter Jaz Sievers-Williams for the shortstop position before the season. Well, I was surprised to learn the the freshman was the starter. So what does she do? At her first at-bat...she hits a two-RBI single at two outs! I guess the Ol' Ball-Coach knows what she's doing! "Greatness and weakness emerge early." Kliethermes K’s 15 in 3-0 Win Over Ole Miss FULLERTON, Calif. – Makenna Kliethermes struck out 15 batters and allowed just one hit in No. 18 Oregon’s 3-0 season-opening win against Ole Miss Thursday night at Anderson Family Field. “I thought Makenna threw an unbelievable game for us,” said coach Melyssa Lombardi. “She struck out 15 and really did a great job of taking care of business on the mound.” How it Happened: Kliethermes struck out seven batters in row, setting down the side in order in the second and third innings, en route to matching her career high in strikeouts. At the plate, Paige Sinicki came through with a two-out RBI single in the top of the first to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead. After Terra McGowan led off the game with a single, Allee Bunker hit into a fielder’s choice. After Bunker stole second, Hanna Delgado then chased her to third with a single to center field. Ariel Carlson was hit by a pitch to load the bases. One out later, Sinicki came through in her first bat as a collegian by driving a pitch up the middle as both Bunker and Delgado came around to score. Oregon added an insurance run in the sixth inning. With two outs, McGowan walked and Bunker singled. Delgado then delivered with her second hit on the night, a line drive single to right center, to score McGowan. After Kliethermes’ no-hit bid was broken up by an infield single by the Rebels’ Bre Roper to lead off the top of the seventh, she walked Aynslie Furbush to bring the tying run to the plate. The junior from Wardsville, Mo., regrouped to strike out the next three Ole Miss batters to seal the victory. “It was a lot of fun,” said Kliethermes. “My team had my back the whole time. It was just great to come out and start our season with a win.” Noteworthy: Sinicki went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a stolen base in her debut. Delgado and McGowan also had two hits on Thursday. Thursday was Oregon’s eighth-straight season-opening win. Both Oregon and Ole Miss were NCAA Regional finalists last season. Oregon scored all three of its runs with two outs. Last season, the Ducks scored 47.6 percent of their runs with two outs. Kliethermes’ 15 strikeouts were the most by a Duck since Brooke Yanez fanned 15 against Oregon State on April 1, 2021. Quotable Head Coach Melyssa Lombardi “I thought they stayed poised. I could feel a little nerves. It was our first game, but I liked how they stayed poised and they did enough. Three runs was the number that we needed tonight and we got it.” On Deck: Oregon traverses to Northridge, Calif., to face CSUN in a doubleheader starting at noon on Friday (ESPN+). And Lombardi says Sinicki is fearless when fielding...

So now there is a transfer too? Quite a package deal that would be! (Maybe this is why some scholarships are held back?)

Ducks Win Fourth Straight EUGENE, Ore. — De'Vion Harmon scored a season-high 21 points and Will Richardson got hot down the stretch as the Oregon men's basketball team won its fourth straight game Thursday night, 68-60 over visiting Stanford in Matthew Knight Arena. Richardson was scoreless for the first 30 minutes Thursday, but Harmon picked him up along with post N'Faly Dante, who finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. Up 14 at one point, the Ducks saw Stanford get within five in the final minute, but Oregon (16-7 overall, 9-3 Pac-12) closed out Thursday's win with much less drama than Saturday's nail-biter at Utah. "We won last game and we learned from that win; you can learn from wins, you can learn from losses," Harmon said. "We handled that situation a lot better. … That's how we have to finish games out if we want to win, if we want to go deep." Richardson, who hit a three-pointer for a 57-47 lead with 4:27 to play, assisted on a bucket by Franck Kepnang for a 63-55 advantage with 1:10 left. He then had two crucial rebounds at Stanford's end in the final minute. Richardson was fouled after each and made all four free throws, helping the Ducks avenge a 72-69 loss at Stanford back on Dec. 12. "I'm glad we got it back," Dante said. "It was a good one."file:///C:/Users/CHARLE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif How It Happened: The Ducks were slow to find their offensive rhythm, but Dante broke through for their first bucket three minutes into the game. Jacob Young and Harmon followed with three-pointers, and Oregon led 10-4. After Stanford closed within 14-12, two buckets each by Dante and Harmon put the Ducks up 22-14, and Harmon hit a three-pointer for a 25-19 lead. Rivaldo Soares closed out the first half with a three-pointer and Oregon led 32-24 at the break. The Ducks opened the second half on an 8-2 run, with Dante putting back a miss by Richardson and then throwing down a dunk that made it 40-26. Oregon then went cold, and Stanford scored second-chance points on consecutive possessions to cap a 12-1 run and get within 41-38. At that point Richardson was 0-of-8 shooting and Oregon had missed nine straight shots as a team, but Richardson broke both cold streaks with a bucket for a 43-38 lead with 10 minutes left. A three-pointer by Quincy Guerrier got the lead back to double digits at 54-44, and Richardson answered a Stanford three-pointer with one of his own to make it 57-47. The Ducks led 59-47 when Stanford scored on four straight trips, the last three of those three-pointers to get within 63-48. But the Cardinal missed on their next two trips and Richardson grabbed both rebounds before sealing the game at the free-throw line.file:///C:/Users/CHARLE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif "Although he didn't shoot the ball well, I thought he did a lot of other things pretty good," UO coach Dana Altman said. Who Stood Out: Harmon hit his season-high 21 points on 8-of-15 shooting, overcoming four turnovers in part due to 3-of-6 three-point shooting. Richardson ended up with 12 points, all in the final 10 minutes, and added six assists with four rebounds. Guerrier had seven points with six rebounds, and Kepnang teamed with Dante to give the Ducks a combined 16 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots in the post. "We've got a lot of guys that can get a bucket," Harmon said. "And Will still had 12, with six assists and no turnovers; that shows he affects the game in other areas."file:///C:/Users/CHARLE~1/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif What It Means: The Ducks learned from a win Saturday at Utah, handling the final minute Thursday with much more poise. They'll look to do the same after this one, after some mix-ups on defensive switches freed up the Cardinal on the late three-pointers, and after Stanford finished with a 37-30 edge in rebounds. "We just gotta keep eliminating defensive mistakes," Altman said. "And we gotta get tougher on the boards." Up Next: The Ducks host California on Saturday (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

Whoa! One of the freshmen was the 3rd rated HS pitcher in the nation last year with an ERA of .13! Is that even possible?

Good gosh...Makenna Kliethermes had 15 strikeouts with only ONE hit? Whew! Surprising that the ace in Brooke Yanez did not start, so there must be some strategy between the opponents and Lombardi's plans for Yanez. Remember when we only had Jordan Dail as the only pitcher in Coach Lombardi's first year? She is still on the roster as a fifth-year COVID senior!

I am not going to post the link since it is behind a paywall, but an article today in the Register-Guard in Eugene was quite informative about the upcoming Softball team. While they do not return as many starters as in the past, Coach Lombardi referred to being the deepest in talent and depth than prior years. She spoke of the incoming freshmen, but also some transfers we will see. She felt that while the experience was not there yet, there is more overall talent than before. Jaz Sievers (now Williams) is back at shortstop after taking a year off to have a child and get married. She is playing sharp, along with Ariel Carlson, who has come out of the hitting slump from last year. Apparently she was killing the ball in fall scrimmages. The pitching staff is SEVEN deep, and I do not ever recall that before! And they referred to a strong bond built within the team...so it should all be fun to watch! Go here for the roster and here for the schedule.

You and I have had this discussion before, and I thank you for the way you presented it. It is an interesting discussion; can it grow enough with just the rational/reasonable fans? I have changed my thoughts since I spoke with you a while back, as now--I do not think it can ever reach a "critical-mass" needed to put up a paywall and create revenue. "Limiting the intervention" would end up discouraging a large percentage here from posting, and we would effectively become like all the other forums, and that is not my objective at the OBD forum at all. I have resigned myself to it being a smaller, but safe place to read and post. And it will remain free and stay up and available so long as I get enough volunteer help to assist me with some of the minor things that need to be done. BTW, Duckology....I am putting into place the suggestions you gave me concerning Web Development/coding, and I do appreciate your feedback. It was very kind of you, and am always available to chat.

There are some surprises in there! I had no idea that Derek Loville had three Super Bowl rings! Every Oregon Duck Player to Win a Super Bowl Ring in the NFL by Zachary Neel of Ducks Wire

Thank you for your thoughts, and yes--I could really disagree with someone on a topic--but I bet if we had a beer together (from this community) we may not agree, but we would have some laughs and have a lot more in common than not as an Oregon fan. A really nice community here...

I have no idea; I would like to think that the pitching will be better, but we lost some of the best hitters in the modern era of Oregon Baseball. But I believe in Waz over the long term...

Those are some eye-popping batting stats his senior season, and I love this interview. Top Catching Prospect Anson Aroz Brings Leadership, Athleticism to Oregon by Mojo Hill of the Daily Emerald

My perspective on what he represented to us in his introductory press conference and what he and I discussed for 20 minutes thereafter--compared to what we got? It is an omission that turns into a deception of which is also called a.........

Ducks Dominate WSU In Pullman PULLMAN, Wash. – Oregon bounced back from its two losses in the desert over the weekend with a dominant effort in an 83-30 win at Washington State on Wednesday. The No. 24 Ducks (15-7, 8-3 Pac-12) set a program record for opponent field goal percentage, allowing the Cougars (14-8, 6-5 Pac-12) to shoot just 17.5 percent while the 30 points allowed are the second-fewest given up in a game in school history. UO also shot 51 percent from the floor highlighted by three players in double figures, led by Endyia Rogers with 17 points. “Really pleased with the effort,” said Graves. “I thought we were on point from the beginning defensively and offensively. Some of the things we didn’t do so well last weekend we did today.” “We talked about getting up when you fall – that’s one of the first things you learn as a human being, and we did. So I’m proud of the group and we have a much better taste in our mouths than last weekend.” How it Happened: The Ducks came out firing on all cylinders on both ends of the floor, jumping out to a 21-2 lead eight minutes in. Oregon hit nine of its first 12 shots from the field while holding WSU without a field goal until the 2:11 mark of the first as the Cougars missed their first 13 shots from the field. Rogers paced the Ducks in the opening quarter, scoring 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting to help UO to a 23-6 lead after one. Oregon continued to build its lead in the second, as a Maddie Scherr jumper with 2:15 until halftime gave the Ducks their largest lead of the half at 38-13. After a couple of WSU layups, Shannon Dufficy connected on a jumper with 24 seconds left to give UO a 40-17 halftime lead. The Ducks took away any hope of a WSU comeback right out of the gates in the second half, going on a 15-2 run to jump out to a 55-19 lead with 4:32 left in the third. UO then closed the quarter on an 11-0 run highlighted by six points from Kylee Watson to make it 66-22 heading to the fourth. Oregon continued to keep the clamps down defensively in the fourth as the Ducks held WSU to 14.3 percent shooting in the fourth and 13.3 percent in the second half to stretch the lead out even further to finish. Who Stood Out: Rogers led the team in scoring for the third straight game with her 17 points – 12 of which came in the first half – while shooting 3-of-4 from outside and grabbing six rebounds. Sedona Prince added 12 points and eight rebounds on 5-of-6 shooting while Te-Hina Paopao poured in 14 points while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Scherr turned in another strong all-around game, scoring six points while recording eight assists and grabbing a career-high eight rebounds – four of which came on the offensive end. Sydney Parrish finished with nine points on 4-of-8 shooting while Ahlise Hurst and Kylee Watson had strong games off the bench, with Hurst scoring nine points and Watson adding six to go with seven rebounds and three steals. Up Next: The Ducks open rivalry weekend against Oregon State on Friday in Corvallis (8 p.m., Pac-12 Network) before hosting the Beavers on Sunday in Matthew Knight Arena (1 p.m., Pac-12 Network).

He really had all of us convinced at first too..."Do what Oregon has been doing well on offense, but get tougher in the trenches." That sounded fine to me... So we all dove right in! Turns out it wasn't a fit...

Back on track! Gotta dance!

Oregon Athletics Press Release EUGENE, Ore. — Six members of the 2021 Oregon football team have officially received invitations to the 2022 NFL Scouting Combine held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. A total of 324 prospects are invited to attend this year’s combine, which will take place from March 1 through March 7 and will be broadcast on NFL Network. Oregon’s six invitees are the second-most in the Pac-12, behind only Arizona State (8). WR Johnny Johnson III » 25 catches for 311 yards and a TD in 10 games in 2021 » 139 career receptions, 10th-most in Oregon history » 1,928 career receiving yards, 121 shy of the UO top 10 » 15 career TD catches, including seven in 2019 S Verone McKinley III » 2021 consensus first-team all-America » One of 10 consensus all-Americans in program history » 2021 Jim Thorpe Award finalist » Tied for the 2021 FBS lead with six interceptions » 2021 Coaches Pac-12 All-Conference first team » 2021 AP All-Pac-12 first team » 11 career interceptions, one shy of the UO all-time top 10 » 77 tackles in 2021, second-most among Pac-12 defensive backs » 168 career tackles, including 97 solo » Competed at the 2022 Reese’s Senior Bowl DE Kayvon Thibodeaux » 2021 unanimous first-team all-America » Fourth unanimous all-American in program history » 2021 Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist » 2021 Chuck Bednarik Award finalist » Two-time Coaches Pac-12 All-Conference first team » Three-time AP All-Pac-12 first team » 2021 Pro Football Focus Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year » 2020 Morris Trophy winner » 2019 Coaches Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year » Tied for seventh in program history with 19.0 career sacks in 31 games » 7.0 sacks in 2021, tied for third-most in the Pac-12 » Fourth in the Pac-12 in 2021 with 12.0 tackles for loss RB CJ Verdell » Rushed for 406 yards and six TDs on 78 carries in five games in 2021 » Sixth in Oregon history with 2,929 career rushing yards » 30 career total touchdowns, including 27 rushing » One of just five Ducks to rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons (2018-19) » 2019 Pac-12 Championship Game MVP, rushing for 208 yards and three TDs WR Devon Williams » Led Oregon in 2021 with 35 receptions for 557 yards and four TDs in 12 games » 31 catches for 509 yards and four TDs in final eight games played of 2021 » Also led the team in 2020 with 286 receiving yards in six games » 50 career catches as a Duck for 843 yards and six TDs CB Mykael Wright » Third on the team in 2021 with 65 total tackles, including three for loss » Two career interceptions and 19 career passes defended » 35 career kickoff returns for 982 yards and two TDs (both in 2019) » One of only three Ducks ever to return to kickoffs for a TD in a single season » 2020 Coaches and AP All-Conference first team » Leads the Pac-12 with 20 forced incompletions since 2019, according to Pro Football Focus » 83.6 grade by PFF since 2019, fifth-best in the Pac-12

Whew! I get to watch this DVR recording tonight!

Wowsa. Great stats Ken, and thanks 30Duck for sharing it.

Again....another example of why I love this community. I did not even think of these points, and they are big ones!

Any exceptions made for holding scholarships is room for Connelly in March or an attractive transfer.

No sweat, as you are a good sport. Actually....I was cheering for the Beavers in their 'Natty runs as a Pac-12 representative. BTW...I grew up in Corvallis and my father was a professor at Oregon State...and I am the "GREEN SHEEP" of the family.

A great contributing member AND has a sense of humor? Love it, as that was FUNNY.

The other sites have made it clear in recent days that Arlis Boardingham will be announcing for Florida later today. It comes down to so few scholarships left and the needs being greater elsewhere for any remaining signees or portal transfers. I was going to provide a link to his announcement, but it is a forgone conclusion since the Oregon coaches have been slow-playing Boardingham, and while he wanted to commit to the Ducks...time has run out.

Gotta love how it is the recruits visiting that give their opinion--which is what matters. (Much of it is a bit ostentatious for me) Oregon Ducks Ranked as Having the Best Football Facilities in the Nation, per 247Sports by Zachary Neel of Ducks Wire Below is the actual article at national 247 sports with an interesting top-25... College Football's 25 Best Facilities in 2022, Ranked by Brad Crawford of 247 Sports

NOW we got the right day figured out. THANKS to 30Duck for posting it...